Every moment of every day, someone in the United States is in need of information related to an essential service such as finding a health care provider, a shelter, a food pantry, care for an aging parent or an after school program for a child. Citizens requiring help are often faced with a bewildering number of information sources. They may call several phone numbers or visit a number of websites seeking help through a range of agencies, non-profits, and other human assistance organizations Community Information and Referral (I&R) networks have played an important role in making health and human service information available for nearly 50 years. Recent efforts have been made by the United Way of America (UWA) and the Alliance for Information and Referral Systems (AIRS) to expand the reach of community information and referral networks through a designated 2-1-1 national dialing code. Their efforts have resulted in one of the largest information-intensive efforts ever launched in American history. Since the first 2-1-1 number was implemented by the United Way of Atlanta in 1997 there have been 141 active 2-1-1 systems implemented in 29 states.